Meet the staff

​Our dedicated team have a combined experience of 100 years in various countries all over the world.

The staff at the ELTC come from a variety of backgrounds including literacy, education, business, linguistics and marketing.

Director of the ELTC

Christine Faulkner​

​Programme Director of the International Foundation Course

IFC Module Leader - Professional Development

​Christine is the Director of the English Language Training Centre and Programme Director of the International Foundation Course. She teaches on the Pre-Sessional Programme and the International Foundation Course on which she is also the module leader for the Professional Development module.

Christine joined the ELTC at Cardiff Metropolitan (then UWIC) in 2008 having gained her CELTA in 2003 at Bristol University. Prior to joining the ELTC, she worked at The Parade ESOL Service for five years and completed her PGCE in Post Compulsory Education and Training in 2007.

She has attended a number of seminars and conferences including IATEFL (Cardiff, 2009), the Second ESCalate Student Conference (University of Glamorgan, 2010), the Preparing for Success Workshop (Southampton University, 2011), the Learn English in Wales conferences (Swansea, 2012, Cardiff, 2014 and Cardiff, 2016 as host venue), IELTS Stakeholder Seminar (Cardiff, 2015).

Her Masters in Education dissertation examines the English language learning experiences of Chinese students.

In her spare time, Christine enjoys running and regularly takes part in the Cardiff 10k and Half Marathon.

Deputy Director of the ELTC

Maria Sidaway

​IFC Module Leader - English for Academic Purposes

​Maria is a keen linguist who graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2009 with a BA (Hons) in Modern Languages with Interpreting (French and Spanish). Her experiences as an international student in both France and Argentina have inspired her current action research based around the promotion of learner autonomy and engagement of students using a variety of teaching methodologies combined with technology.

Maria began teaching in 2010, completing her CELTA qualification at International House (CLIC) Seville. After working in private language schools around Cardiff for a year, she returned to Seville in 2011 where she taught general English and Cambridge exam classes at the English Language Institute (ELI) until June 2013. Maria joined the ELTC in July 2013, first as an English Language Tutor on the Summer Pre-Sessional Course then progressing to the role of EAP Module Leader in September of the same year. In December 2014, she took on the role of Acting Manager of the ELTC and was appointed Deputy Director of the Centre in March 2015.

In addition to assisting the Director of the ELTC with the running of the Centre, Maria teaches on both the Pre-Sessional and International Foundation Courses. She is currently undertaking the Postgraduate Certificate Teaching in Higher Education (PgCTHE) at Cardiff Metropolitan University, which will lead to the acquisition of FHEA status.

Dorne Edwards

Deputy Director (Maternity Cover)

English Language Tutor

​Dorne moved from a business management position in the private sector to Cardiff University in 1996, where she spent many years in a senior position supporting learning and research. A major part of her role was coaching and mentoring, and having harboured a lifelong dream of teaching English to adults Dorne decided to make the move in 2013.

Following successful completion of the Cambridge CELTA and Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS), Dorne then went on to teach Literacy to adults in the community and English Skills for Life to migrant workers, asylum seekers and refugees at Cardiff and Vale College. Dorne started working at Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2014 as an English Language Tutor on the Pre-sessional Summer course, and then joined the ELTC's core team earlier this year.

Dorne's hobbies include cooking, photography and running, but she has a particular passion for hiking and walked the length of Hadrian's Wall in 2014.

Teaching Staff

Dr. David Greenslade

English Language Tutor

IFC Module Leader - English Language Proficiency

Dr David Greenslade has taught English as a second language in Japan and in the Middle East. He has also taught English as a first (and second language) at universities in Europe and the UK. All three of his degrees are in language teaching. His BA is a degree in bilingual education, his MA is in the teaching of writing and his PhD is a study of literacy and creative thinking. He publishes regularly in professional journals and with commercial publishers.

Professional writing includes studies of student behaviour, studies of metaphor and a survey of testing. Other books include essays on the iconography of Wales, reflections on the Welsh/English experience and the biography of an Arab female traveller. He has also published a novel, poetry and books for children. He contributes articles to Voices the magazine for the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language.

Zobiea Nasir

English Language Tutor

IFC Module Leader - Context Analysis

Zobiea began her professional teaching career in 2005, working in a language school in Cardiff as a full-time teacher and assistant director of studies. During this period she completed her CELTA at Bristol University, and in 2012 completed her Masters in TESOL, whilst maintaining her teaching career.

She is currently working on Cardiff Metropolitan’s Pre-sessional and International Foundation Course delivering a variety of lessons, in particular language development. She is a keen sports fan with other interests including poetry and songwriting. Zobiea is multilingual, and enjoys learning about various cultures.

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Pierre Gaite

English Language Tutor​

IFC Module Leader - Critical Thinking

Pierre has dual interests in education and academia. He began teaching in 2009, working as a secondary school English teacher for a number of years. This often involved working with students who were new arrivals in the UK or who did not speak English as a first language, and as a result Pierre has experience of teaching both the National Curriculum and English language skills. He has worked for the ELTC since 2013, initially as a tutor for the Summer Pre-Sessional Course before taking on a longer-term role in 2015, completing his CELTA at Cardiff Metropolitan in the same year.

Pierre teaches on the Pre-Sessional as well as the International Foundation Course, where he acts as the module leader for Critical Thinking. Outside of the ELTC, he is also undertaking a PhD in Medieval History at Cardiff University, where he conducts his own research and tutors in undergraduate seminars.

Cristina Higuera Martín

​English Language Tutor

A first class honours Language Studies (English and Spanish) graduate, Cristina also holds a Postgraduate Professional Development Award in Mentoring and Coaching in Education.

Her teaching qualifications include a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education in Post-Compulsory Education and Training (PGCE PCET), a Certificate in Delivering English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and the International House Certificate in Language Teaching to Adults (CLTA).

Cristina began her career in education in 2003. She joined Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2011, initially as a student and more recently as a member of staff. Her research interests include teacher training, educational trends and mentoring and coaching schemes.

Kenneth Chan

English Language Tutor

​Ken has taught English in Hong Kong, Japan and the UK since 1990. He trained in electronic engineering in the UK and, after some years working in the engineering field, he became interested in TEFL and completed a Master's degree in Education whilst teaching at the Hong Kong University of Science of Technology.

Over the years, Ken has enjoyed working with students in different parts of the world, which has also given him an appreciation of the richness and diversity of people and their languages, cultures and customs. Ken has presented and written papers on the importance of reading from a young age, and using Shakespeare in English teaching. In his spare time, he enjoys walking in the green areas of Cardiff.

Support Staff

Sharon Dwyer

Centre Administrator

​Sharon started her working life in the finance sector and took a career break to raise her two children. In 2008 she joined Cardiff Metropolitan University in the Estates and Facilities Department on the Llandaff campus.

Sharon has worked as the ELTC Administrator since 2013, providing administrative support to the ELTC team and working closely with the Centre Director and Deputy Director. Her work is varied and interesting, and involves helpingstudents across the courses delivered by the ELTC, as well as working with colleagues across the university and beyond. And if there's a problem Sharon can't solve, she usually knows someone who can!

Sharon's hobbies include reading, cooking and skiing. She has a passion for travelling, in particular visiting her children who both live overseas.